Michael Ryder scored the game's first goal to give the Devils the advantage in the first period.

Devils goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 20 of 23 shots, but his busiest stretch was late in the game.

The Blue Jackets trailed 1-0 and went more than seven minutes into the second before getting a shot on Schneider.

But once they woke up, they were productive.

Midway through the second period, Wisniewski's power-play shot from the right point caromed off teammate R.J. Umberger on its way to Schneider, and it lay momentarily in the crease after Schneider failed to glove it cleanly.

Dubinsky dove forward into the crease ahead of Devils defenseman Mark Fayne and poked home the rebounds before Schneider could recover to make it 1-1.

That goal gave the Blue Jackets' life. A little luck doesn't hurt, either.

With 4:30 left in the second, Atkinson gathered a loose puck atop the circles and threw a backhander into traffic that Schneider never saw. It went into the net wide of his right pad for a 2-1 Columbus lead.

The Blue Jackets' got a lucky bounce on their third goal as well.

Wisniewski's wrister from the top of the slot was redirected by Fayne's stick, sending it down and through Schneider's pads for a 3-1 lead.

The exclamation point on the Blue Jackets win came 8:18 into the third period, when Blue Jackets forward Jared Boll caught Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov with his head down along the boards and blasted him with a hit that sent Volchenkov's stick flying.

Volchenkov was wobbly skating back to the bench, but continued to play.

On his next shift, Volchenkov flattened Dubinsky as they crossed the blue line, sparking a tussel that sent Dubinsky to the penalty box for roughing.

NOTES: Attendance was 14,357. ... Devils RW Jaromir Jagr played his 1,400th NHL game. ... Devils LW Patrik Elias did not travel with the club. He's missed two games with the flu. ... Blue Jackets D James Wisniewski skipped the morning skate because of flu-like symptoms, but played last night. ... The Devils and Blue Jackets have played only 11 times during Columbus' first 12 seasons in the NHL, but that will change now that they're both in the Metropolitan Division. ... New Jersey C Damien Brunner returned after missing two games with the flu. ... Blue Jackets LW Nick Foligno told The Columbus Dispatch that his three-game absence for "personal reasons" was because his infant daughter was born with a heart condition that required a brief hospitalization.